Refrigeration apparatus



Jan. 10, 1939. w. B. ANDERSON REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed June 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fla 1.

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ATTOR EY WIT NES5ES: 9aylwu Jan. 10, 1939. w. B. "ANDERSON REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed June 3, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OUTLET 4 INLET N O m mwfi NN W m B W L m 4 M w P Patented Jan. 10, 1939 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATION APPARATUS William B. Anderson, West Springfield, Mass., as-

signor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 3,

5 Claims.

My invention relates to refrigerator apparatus and more particularly to an evaporator fabricated from sheet metal for use with a mechanical refrigerator.

An object of my invention is to provide an evaporator in which the removal of the evaporated refrigerant is improved by a novel header arrangement. r

A further object of my invention is to provide a design of evaporator which may be formed of.

description and claims taken in connection with l the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which: Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an evaporator constructed in accordance with my invention showing in particular the serpentine refrigerant containing passages in the'refrigerated shelf;

Fig. 2 is a front planview of my evaporator showing the relative arrangement of the headers, the refrigerated shelf and the distributing mani- Fig. 3 is a side view, in elevation, partly in section, of my'evaporator showingthe relative arrangement of the main suction chamber, the.

refrigerant collecting header and the refrigerant passages in one side wall; and,

Fig. 4 is a side view, in elevation, of my evaporator showingthe relative arrangement of the headers and refrigerant passages in the second sidewall.

Referring specifically to the' drawings fora detailed description of my inventioriynumeral In designates generally a sheet metal evaporator embodying two parallel vertical walls Wand l6 respectively, and'a bottom connecting wall ill/which walls cooperate to form a freezing chamber l2.

The 'walls'include an inner-sheet 20- and an outer sheet 22 formed of sheet metal. .The outer sheet22 iscorrugated at23 and is weldedaround 1 its .edgesand between the corrugations ;2 3,to form refrigerant containing passagesgfi.

' w Semi-cylindrical longitudinally extending: header portions 26.and=28 are stamped i the IGSP 1936, Serial No. 83,295

tive upper ends of the outer sheet 22 and. form, when welded to the inner sheet 20, inclined refrigerant collecting headers 30 and 32, each of which communicates freely with upper ends of the refrigerant containing passages 24. A suction conduit 36 is formed by the inner sheet 20 and a longitudinally extending semi-cylindrical conduit member '38 provided in the outer szeet 22. The suction conduit 36 is disposed above the inclined refrigerant collecting header 32 and communicates therewith through a passage 34 formed in the sheet 22.

Complementary semi-cylindrical chamber portions 40 and 42 are stamped in the sheets 20 and 22, respectively, and cooperate to form a. main suction chamber 1M which is shown inthis embodiment in an inclined position. The cross sectional area of the suction chamber M is made greater than that of the suction conduit 36 or either of the refrigerant collecting headers 30 and 32, in order to provide ample vapor space. The inclined refrigerant collecting header 3!) com-. municates with the main suction-header 44 through a passage 46 formed in the outer sheet 22. The suction conduit 36. communicates with. tlge main suction chamber 44 through a conduit A refrigeratedshelf 50 is disposed in the freezing chamber i2 in a horizontalposition above the bottom wall l8 and is securedto the inner, sheet 20 by any suitable means such as welding or brazing. The refrigerated shelf is formed of an upper metal sheet 52 and a corrugated lower metal sheet 54 which are welded together between the corrugations and at their meeting edges, whereby serpentine. refrigerant containing passages 56 are formed therein. M

-A conduit 58 is connected to, the inlet end of .the serpentine passages, 56 for the. purpose of supplying liquid refrigerant thereto. A conduit, Bil-provides refrigerant'conveying means between jthe. outlet, end, of the passages 56 and, a longitudinally extending. distributing manifold 62 w formed by the sheets and 22in the bottom wall I B. The distributing, manifold 1 6 2 extends trans- .yversely; 0f; therefrigerant passages 24 .and com-" municates freely with them. :TheZinner metal ,sheet 20 and theouter metal sheet 22 are preferably secured tcreach other }by .braz n or we d n i o der o o m s ine e un tary structure.,, In :the; preser-itembodiment, I prefento secure the sheetsto each otherby, roller welding or; spot welding, the evaporator. being designed to providafor the-Insect. a maximum amount of er weld ns lqe jihams ie .end of the refrigerant containing serpentine passage 56 in the shelf 50 and the liquid refrigerant after circulating through said passages is conveyed by a conduit 6llto the longitudinally extend-- ing distributing manifold 62, and then into the refrigerant passages 24.

The refrigerant circulates through the passages 24, horizontally in the bottom wall 18 and upwardly in the side walls l4 and I6, respectively, to the inclined refrigerant collecting headers 36 and 32. From the inclined refrigerant collecting header 30, the refrigerant passes through a passage 46 to the main suction chamber 44. The refrigerant in the inclined refrigerant collecting header 32 first passes into the suction conduit 36 through the passage 34 and then passes to the I main suction chamber 44 through a-conduit 48. The refrigerant vapor is discharged from the main inclined suction chamber 44 through an outlet 64 after it has passed through louver type baffles 66 preferably positioned in the main suction chamber 44 intermediately of the outlet 64 and the passage 46. The bailie 66 shields the liquid refrigerant in the suction chamber 44 near the outlet 64 from the violent agitation set up in the other end of the suction chamber 44 by the refrigerant vapor issuing through the passage 46 and through the liquid refrigerant in the suction chamber 44. This permits the oil in the liquid refrigerant in the shielded portion of the suction chamber 44 to rise to the top andbe more readily withdrawn through the outlet 64. The baflle 66 also prevents an undue amount of liquid refrigerant from being splashed through the outlet 64.

By effecting a forced circulation of the refrigerant in the evaporator, more equal vaporization of the liquid refrigerant in all parts of the evaporator is obtained. Thus, as the liquid refrigerant circulates through the refrigerant passages 24, heat is absorbed by the evaporator both from the freezing chamber l2 through the inner sheet 20 and from outside by the outer sheet 22 causing the liquid refrigerant to vaporize and form gas bubbles.

These gasbubbles inherently separate from the liquid refrigerant and rise to the uppermost portion of the headers 30 and 32, both of which are inclined to aid this gas separation from the liquid refrir irant and to facilitate the flow of the vaporized refrigerant out of the refrigerant collecting headers 32 and 30 into the suction conduit 36 and suction chamber 44, respectively.

The inclination of the suction chamber 44 further aids the separation of the vaporized refrigerant from the liquid refrigerant and facilitates its flow to the outlet 64 in the main suction chamber 44. The separation of the vaporized reareairo In is the case in many evaporators, the liquid refrigerant delivered to the distributing manifold 62 may have entrained with it small quantities of oil which are not miscible with the refrigerant in all proportions. This combination of oil and refrigerant is delivered from the manifold 62 to the refrigerant passage 26, wherein part of it rises to the top of the refrigerant while the remainder would, under ordinary circumstances, due to the increased viscosity of the oil at low temperatures, adhere to the walls of the evaporator thereby reducing its efliciency. In my evaporator, however, the forced circulation of the liquid refrigerant keeps all parts of the evaporator supplied with liquid refrigerant and prevents the oil from collecting in large quantities on the walls of the evaporator.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided an improved evaporator in which (1) a more equal vaporization of the liquid refrigerant is obtained; (2) the removal of the vaporized refrigerant is facilitated by the arrangement of the headers; (3) the evaporator structure is strengthened at points of greatest strain by the use of roller welding, and (4) a more intimate contact is effected between the metal .sheets around the headers by roller welding, thereby minimizing the possibility of failure of the evaporator. v

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such' limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as .are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A refrigerant containing evaporator including two sheets of metal, one of said sheets having corrugations formed therein, said sheets being welded together between the corrugations and at their edges to form a series of refrigerant passages, said sheets beingj bent to form vertical walls and a bottom connecting wall forming a freezing chamber, a shelf attached to the vertical walls of said freezing chamber and having refrigerant passages formed therein, two inclined refrigerant collecting headers formed by said sheets, a suction conduit formed by said sheets disposed above and in the same plane with one of said inclined refrigerant collecting headers, a

suction chamber formed by said sheets disposedabove and in the same plane with the other inclined refrigerant collecting header, means for connecting one end of said suction conduit and said suction chamber with one end of their respective inclined refrigerant collecting headers, means for connecting said suction chamber with said first suction conduit, a distributing manifold connecting with said passages, the uppermost ends of said passages connecting with said two, inclined refrigerant collecting headers, refrigerant inlet means to said shelf, refrigerant conveying means connecting said shelf and said manifold, and refrigerant outlet means from said sucticn chamber.

-2. A heat absorbing element for a refrigerator comprising a metal sheet bent to form a refrigerated chamber having a side wall and abottom wall, a second sheet cooperating with the first sheet to form passages for the circulation of refrigerant in the side wall, a suction chamber embodied in the upper portion of theside wall,

a header havinga cross sectional area less than that of the suction chamber communicating with said passages embodied in said side wall below said suction chamber, said suction chamber and said header being spaced apart a greater vertical distance at one end than at the other, a refrigerant outlet in the suction chamber, "communicating means between the lower end of the suction chamber and the upper end of the header and means for admitting refrigerant to the circulating passages at a location spaced from said header and said suction chamber, whereby said refrigerant circulates through said passages to said header and suction chamber and is discharged through said outlet.

3. A heat absorbing element for a refrigerator comprising a metal sheet bent to form a refrigerating chamber having a side wall and a bottom wall, a second sheet cooperating with the first sheet to form passages for the circulation of refrigerant upwardly in the side wall, a conduit embodied in the upper portion of the side wall, a header embodied in the side wall adjacent to and below the conduit, said header communicating with the respective refrigerant circulation passages, communicating means connecting one end of the header with the adjacent end of the conduit, and refrigerant outlet means embodied in the conduit and spaced, longitudinally, from the aforesaid communicating means, said header being inclined upwardly in the direction of said communicating means.

4. A heat absorbing element for a refrigerator comprising a metal sheet bent to form a refrigerated chamber having a side wall and a bottom wall, a second sheet cooperating with the first sheet to form passages for the circulation of refrigerant in said walls, a suction chamber embodied in the upper portion of the side wall, a header of smaller cross-sectional area than said suction chamber embodied in the side wall adjacent to and below the suction chamber, said header communicating with the respective ref'rigerant circulating passages, communicating means connecting one end of the header with the adjacent end of said suction chamber, a distributing manifold extending transversely of said passages and communicating therewith, refrigerant inlet means in said manifold, and refrigerant outlet means embodied in said suction chamber and spaced longitudinally from the aforesaid communicating means, said header being ininclined upwardly in the direction of said communicating means and said suction chamber being inclined upwardly in the direction of the refrigerant outlet means.

5. A heat absorbing element for a refrigerator comprising a metal sheet bent to form a refrigerated chamber having a side wall and a bottom wall, a second sheet cooperating with the first sheet to form passages for the circulation of refrigerant in the side wall, a suction chamber embodied in the upper portion of the side wall, a header embodied in said side wall below said suction chamber, said suction chamber and said header being spaced apart a greater vertical distance at one end than at the other, a refrigerant outlet in the suction chamber, communicating means between the lower end of the suction chamber and the upper end of the header, and means for admitting refrigerant to the circulating passages at a location spaced from the head- 

